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5 Best Derbyshire And Peak District Caravan Holiday Parks - 2024
Derbyshire and the Peak District is a convenient and scenic spot for a holiday if you’re in the East Midlands, West Midlands or Yorkshire. Matlock, Bakewell and Buxton are pretty towns whilst Chatsworth House and Ladybower Reservoir are worth a visit. And then, of course, there's the rolling hills of the Peak District for walking (perhaps less appealing for small children...).
There isn’t as wide a choice of caravan parks in Derbyshire and the Peak District as you’ll find in some resorts with many of the accommodation being lodges with hot tubs. However, some of these are comparable in price to basic accommodation in more expensive areas, such as Cornwall or Devon.
We've chosen five of the best Peak District and Derbyshire lodges with hot tubs and caravan holiday parks by looking at customer reviews, facilities, value for money and location.
There isn’t as wide a choice of caravan parks in Derbyshire and the Peak District as you’ll find in some resorts with many of the accommodation being lodges with hot tubs. However, some of these are comparable in price to basic accommodation in more expensive areas, such as Cornwall or Devon.
We've chosen five of the best Peak District and Derbyshire lodges with hot tubs and caravan holiday parks by looking at customer reviews, facilities, value for money and location.
1. Ashbourne Heights Holiday Park (swimming pool, pretty location, near to walking and cycling)
**Winner: best value holiday park**
Ashbourne Heights is a quiet holiday park in a lovely rural spot, about three miles north of Ashbourne.
It doesn't have the vast range of facilities of some holiday parks, but it has a modestly sized indoor swimming pool, a playground and a shop.
The main appeal is the local walks and cycle trails. The famous Dovedale stepping stones are a few minutes' drive away and are guaranteed to end in someone getting wet feet. Ashbourne Heights Holiday Park is also close to a popular cycling route called the Tissington Trail.
The park was taken over by a big-name company called Park Holidays in 2021. It scores 4/5 on TripAdvisor or 4.3/5 on Google Reviews at the time of writing.
Price: £1130 for week in a gold plus caravan for a family of four in August 2024. The caravan can sleep six people if you don't mind using the lounge.
It doesn't have the vast range of facilities of some holiday parks, but it has a modestly sized indoor swimming pool, a playground and a shop.
The main appeal is the local walks and cycle trails. The famous Dovedale stepping stones are a few minutes' drive away and are guaranteed to end in someone getting wet feet. Ashbourne Heights Holiday Park is also close to a popular cycling route called the Tissington Trail.
The park was taken over by a big-name company called Park Holidays in 2021. It scores 4/5 on TripAdvisor or 4.3/5 on Google Reviews at the time of writing.
Price: £1130 for week in a gold plus caravan for a family of four in August 2024. The caravan can sleep six people if you don't mind using the lounge.
Ashbourne Heights Holiday Park has plenty of good quality accommodation...
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...and the local area is worth exploring
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2. Lime Tree Park near Buxton (quiet park, simple facilities)
**Winner: cheapest holiday park**
Lime Tree Park is a simple, quiet and affordable caravan holiday park which is centrally located for exploring the Peak District.
The onsite facilities are limited to a play area and a TV lounge, so don’t turn up expecting hours of evening entertainment from crooners or a kids’ club. Despite the basic facilities, customer reviews are consistently very good (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor). Pets are allowed in some of the caravans.
Most of the accommodation on offer is caravans, although there are some ‘lodges’ which were only about £100 extra for a week in peak season when we checked.
If you're looking for a good value base for a Peak District walking holiday, I'd say this is a good choice.
Price: £695 for a week in a Chestnut caravan in August 2024 for a family of four.
The onsite facilities are limited to a play area and a TV lounge, so don’t turn up expecting hours of evening entertainment from crooners or a kids’ club. Despite the basic facilities, customer reviews are consistently very good (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor). Pets are allowed in some of the caravans.
Most of the accommodation on offer is caravans, although there are some ‘lodges’ which were only about £100 extra for a week in peak season when we checked.
If you're looking for a good value base for a Peak District walking holiday, I'd say this is a good choice.
Price: £695 for a week in a Chestnut caravan in August 2024 for a family of four.
Lime Tree Park is an affordable and highly rated caravan park...
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...with several grades of caravan and some lodges
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3. Hazelhurst Lodges, near Chesterfield (peace and quiet, simple facilities)
Hazelhurst Lodges is near Ashover and Chesterfield, in a green and rural area just to the east of the Peak District National Park.
This is very much a hot tubs and prosecco sort of place rather than somewhere offering bingo and lager. There's no swimming pool but it's worth considering if you want to switch off the smartphone for a couple of days or go walking in the Peaks.
You can get to Hazelhurst Lodges from Nottingham or Sheffield in about 35-40 minutes.
It's at the pricier end of the market but reviews are 5/5 from customers.
Price: £1429 for a Honeysuckle Lodge with a hot tub for a family of four for a week in August 2024.
This is very much a hot tubs and prosecco sort of place rather than somewhere offering bingo and lager. There's no swimming pool but it's worth considering if you want to switch off the smartphone for a couple of days or go walking in the Peaks.
You can get to Hazelhurst Lodges from Nottingham or Sheffield in about 35-40 minutes.
It's at the pricier end of the market but reviews are 5/5 from customers.
Price: £1429 for a Honeysuckle Lodge with a hot tub for a family of four for a week in August 2024.
Reviews of Hazelhurst Lodges are as good as they get...
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...but the appeal is peace and quiet rather than onsite activities
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4. Landal Sandybrook Lodges (swimming pool, great reviews, hot tubs, near CBeebies Land and Alton Towers)
Dutch company Landal Greenparks offers something of an alternative to Center Parcs – although not on the same scale. They’ve got 18 holiday parks in the UK, two of which are in Derbyshire.
The accommodation is lodges so they’re not as cheap as some caravan parks but you do get a lot more space and customer reviews are glowing (4.5/5 mostly).
Landal Sandybrook is very well equipped with plenty to keep children entertained, although bear in mind that you’ll pay extra for many of the activities (much like Center Parcs).
The activities bundled in the accommodation price include an indoor swimming pool and sauna, play room for toddlers, outdoor play area and woodland walks. You’ll pay extra for things like archery, mini golf, fencing or snorkelling in the swimming pool.
In terms of location, Landal Sandybrook is right at the southern end of the Peak District so it’ll take about 40 minutes in the car to get to Eyam or 30 minutes to Buxton. One real plus point is that it's only about 25 minutes from Alton Towers and CBeebies Land. We drove for nearly three hours to get to CBeebies Land, by which point the children (and the grown-ups) were ready to come home...
Price: £1569 for a Tissington Classic Skyline lodge for a family of four for a week in August 2024.
The accommodation is lodges so they’re not as cheap as some caravan parks but you do get a lot more space and customer reviews are glowing (4.5/5 mostly).
Landal Sandybrook is very well equipped with plenty to keep children entertained, although bear in mind that you’ll pay extra for many of the activities (much like Center Parcs).
The activities bundled in the accommodation price include an indoor swimming pool and sauna, play room for toddlers, outdoor play area and woodland walks. You’ll pay extra for things like archery, mini golf, fencing or snorkelling in the swimming pool.
In terms of location, Landal Sandybrook is right at the southern end of the Peak District so it’ll take about 40 minutes in the car to get to Eyam or 30 minutes to Buxton. One real plus point is that it's only about 25 minutes from Alton Towers and CBeebies Land. We drove for nearly three hours to get to CBeebies Land, by which point the children (and the grown-ups) were ready to come home...
Price: £1569 for a Tissington Classic Skyline lodge for a family of four for a week in August 2024.
Landal Sandybrook has higher quality facilities than most caravan parks...
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...and some of the pricier accommodation comes with hot tubs
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5. Landal Darwin Forest, near Matlock (indoor swimming pool, loads to do, hot tubs and lodges)
Landal Greenpark's other Derbyshire holiday park is further north but it’s pretty similar in terms of reviews (4.5/5). Darwin Forest has more to do onsite but Sandybrook (see number4) has the advantage of being a bit nearer to Alton Towers and CBeebies Land.
The indoor swimming pool and sauna are included, but you’ll pay extra for things like indoor play, spa treatments, tennis, mini golf and fencing. One nice addition at Darwin Forest over Landal Sandybrook is a ‘Trim Trak’ obstacle course (a cross between a woodland walk and an obstacle course).
In case you’re interested to the comparisons with Center Parcs, Darwin Forest has 120 lodges over about 47 acres whilst most of the Center Parcs are about ten times as big, but have about 800 lodges. Landal Darwin Forest was about £600 cheaper than Center Parcs for similar dates and accommodation in our price comparison.
Local attractions include the Heights of Abraham (10 minutes drive, cable car, caves and playground) and Chatsworth House (15 minutes drive, stately home and playground).
Price: £1829 for a week in a Haddon Classic Vogue lodge for a family of four in August 2024.
The indoor swimming pool and sauna are included, but you’ll pay extra for things like indoor play, spa treatments, tennis, mini golf and fencing. One nice addition at Darwin Forest over Landal Sandybrook is a ‘Trim Trak’ obstacle course (a cross between a woodland walk and an obstacle course).
In case you’re interested to the comparisons with Center Parcs, Darwin Forest has 120 lodges over about 47 acres whilst most of the Center Parcs are about ten times as big, but have about 800 lodges. Landal Darwin Forest was about £600 cheaper than Center Parcs for similar dates and accommodation in our price comparison.
Local attractions include the Heights of Abraham (10 minutes drive, cable car, caves and playground) and Chatsworth House (15 minutes drive, stately home and playground).
Price: £1829 for a week in a Haddon Classic Vogue lodge for a family of four in August 2024.
Landal Darwin Forest offers classy lodges with hot tubs...
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...as well as a swimming pool, spa treatments and tennis courts
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Price comparison of 5 of Derbyshire and the Peak District's best holiday caravan parks
We think Derbyshire and the Peak District offers good value because most of the holiday parks are lodges with hot tubs rather than standard caravan parks. For our price comparison we looked for a week's holiday in August 2024 for a family of four. We looked for the cheapest accommodation available, excluding any extras or optional activities. From cheapest to most expensive:
- Lime Tree Park - £695 **Winner: cheapest holiday park**
- Ashbourne Heights Holiday Park - £1130
- Hazelhurst Lodges - £1339
- Landal Sandybrook - £1569
- Landal Darwin Forest - £1829
Images from Darwin Forest, Park Holidays, Booking.com and Sandybrook. Searches carried out in November 2023.
